


The 9:15 to Ba Sing Se

by bazaar



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3195419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bazaar/pseuds/bazaar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra hates trains. Or, more accurately, <i>used</i> to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The 9:15 to Ba Sing Se

**Author's Note:**

> Another substance-less, one chapter story. I'm still not sure of what I'm doing. I'm not even sure if this is the right rating.
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> I do not and will never own _The Legend of Korra_.

Korra hates trains.

Somehow, though, she's been (violently and without her consent) forced on to one. It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with this particular mode of transportation, it's more that the ride from Republic City to Ba Sing Se will take _fourteen hours,_ and however patient Tenzin might think she's become over the past few years, fourteen hours on a train will make her crack. There's no question.

Asami's along for the ride, so there's that.

To the older woman's ever-increasing credit, she'd actually volunteered to accompany Korra on the trip after the Avatar's expression had apparently gone downright murderous during a meeting with President Raiko.

Korra doesn't remember looking murderous. Probably because she'd _felt_ so murderous. It's not really all that uncommon to have delusions of decapitation when talking to Raiko, or any of Republic City's fine array of politicians. Korra hates them all. Asami does as well, but is entirely too polite to say so. (In public, that is.)

"No matter how many times you tell me it's a 'sign of good faith', it's not gonna make this any less stupid." Korra grumbles, clumsily shoving their bags into the overhead compartments. "You own like, every airship in Republic City. I mean—we could have taken _Oogi_ for fuck's sake!"

Asami just sighs. "What do you want me to say? We're already on the train."

She doesn't really want Asami to say anything, she just wants to complain. Petulantly. Like a child.

No, it's not fair to her best friend, and it's really not a _best friend_ kind of thing to do, but even though it'll be nice to show some support for all of the tireless rail workers by christening their new trans-continental railway with them, Korra also doesn't want to be on a train for fourteen hours when she could have taken an airship or a _fucking flying bison_ and been there by dinner. Speaking of—

"Did you bring snacks?"

Asami rummages around in her pack for a moment before tossing her a box of red bean puffs (ooh, the _good_ red bean puffs). Asami thinks of everything.

Halfway through her box, the train starts to move. Korra swallows before turning to face Asami. She's taken out a note pad, and Korra resists the urge to lean right up next to her to watch her sketch.

It's mesmerizing, watching Asami draw. She always focuses so intently on her work, muttering corrections or ideas to herself. Every few moments her eyebrows scrunch up and she'll start erasing furiously, like she's mad at herself. Always the perfectionist. Korra thinks it's adorable.

"What're you drawing?"

"Mmm?" Asami hums absently, not tearing her eyes off the paper. "Oh, just the… engines…"

"Well I'm real glad you came with me." Korra deadpans, and tosses a bean puff at Asami's head. It misses. "I wanted to _not_ talk to anyone and eat my feelings away on this trip."

Asami swats away the next airborne puff and finally looks up from her pad to smirk at Korra. Korra, whose heart doesn't flutter when she's given that look. Nope.

Much to the Avatar's surprise, Asami opens her mouth wide, points to the box and nods as encouragingly as she can without looking like a complete idiot. She looks like a complete idiot anyway, and it's actually pretty endearing.

"Why, Ms. Sato!" Korra feigns shock, tossing a puff that lands perfectly on Asami's forehead. She's not very good at this. "This isn't very ladylike of you."

Asami looks like she's about to frown, but the next one makes its way into her mouth effortlessly (with a little airbending). "That's cheating." she says around a mouthful of puff before swallowing. "For your information, _Avatar,_  the great Ms. Sato is much less ladylike than most might think."

Oh, Korra knows. But she doesn't say that.

They toss assorted snacks (seaweed crackers? Asami _does_ think of everything) at each other from across their shared seat for exactly enough time as it takes for Korra to get bored of such an activity. She does tend to have an annoyingly short attention span, so with anyone else but Asami, Korra figures it would have gotten old a _lot_ faster.

There's all kinds of crunchy, soon-to-be-stepped-on snacks on the carpet of their private compartment when Korra asks what's on _everyone's_ mind:

"Did you have to bring half of your house?"

She gestures at the piles of luggage occupying the bench seat in front of them. It bows dangerously under their combined weight, and Korra isn't entirely sure they won't drown in a sea of (really, quite nice) matching suitcases by the time they arrive in the city.

"We'll be there for like, the weekend."

Asami shrugs. "Hey, I remembered the snacks. You can't blame me for being prepared."

"Hmm," She's right, but that's not uncommon. "I guess not."

 

* * *

 

Korra can't exactly differentiate the line between talking to Asami and falling asleep. She thinks there's a point where the dialogue kind of stems off into comfortable silence, but the memory isn't entirely there when she wakes up.

Waking up isn't the important part.

And neither is the point where their conversation had ended. All Korra's mind seems to focus on once she's asleep is the distinct ruffling of sheets, the sight of clothes scattered across a floor that looks strikingly like the hardwood ones at Air Temple Island, and all manner of noises two people might make when in said bed with said clothes on said floor.

There's some garbled speech that rings, muted along the periphery of her subconscious, but the one thing that sticks out stark against the darkness of the dream is a pair of intense green eyes, staring up at Korra's dream self.

Actually, it's the same pair of green eyes that Korra jolts awake to find staring at her.

It takes all of half a second for her to realize that not only had she fallen asleep on Asami's shoulder, but she had _also_ been having a very vivid dream and oh _spirits,_ had she said something—what's that _look_ for?

"I, uh…" What does she say to this? _Oh, sorry Asami I just had a dream. What? No, nothing crazy, we were just_ _in bed together_. _Yeah, naked. No biggie, right?_ "I just—"

"How did you know I have a pair of tiger-seal print underwear?"

Korra almost laughs. _Almost._

She's in a little too much shock to do so, though. " _What?"_ Korra has to physically shake herself out of her stupor. "What did I _say?_ "

Asami looks like she's having a little too much fun at Korra's expense. It's _so_ not funny. "Well, I _think_ I recall something about someone having a talented… mouth? Or was it fingers?"

Korra groans, covering her overheated face with her hands. 

"A lot of moaning, I think." She's being _such_ an asshole. "And, a few times, maybe… my name?"

Korra wants to rip the hair out of her head and dive out of the moving train. Maybe if she earthbends herself into the ground she'll never have to face another living being again. Or maybe she'll just go live with the badgermoles. They won't judge her or embarrass the _living shit_ out of her. 

"Look Asami," she begins, not looking up. "I didn't mean—"

"To have a wet dream _about_ me on a train ride _with_ me?"

She _has_ to go live with the badgermoles now. "Yeah," she says weakly. "that."

"I take it that it was a good dream? It sounded like one."

Korra frowns into her hands, confused. She ventures a glance at Asami, who's eyeing her carefully. "I mean… yes? Sure. It was."

"Probably not as good as some of the ones I've had." Asami says, like it's absolutely nothing. "I'd like to think I have a pretty vivid imagination."

_What._

She's not entirely sure what a fuse is, (Asami's mentioned them before, but they have everything to do with vehicles so Korra figures she doesn't want to get anywhere _near_ the things) but she's about eight hundred percent sure she blows one when Asami does that fucking hair-toss… _thing,_ and looks at Korra like she's trying ( _really_ trying) not to laugh.

"You—you…" Korra croaks, but all of her language skills have apparently melted out from her ears. She can't think to _breathe_ correctly let alone ask Asami _what the fuck, Asami._

"What?" she asks innocently, like what she's said hasn't just broken the great and powerful Avatar. "You can't expect me to have _you_ for a friend and not dream like that."

Korra's speech comes back, but she can't exactly control the volume, which is about a million decibels too high. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"It's a compliment." Asami says with an actual, genuine smile. "Avatar or not, you're an amazing person, and you're my best friend. Not to mention _these,_ " She leans over and squeezes Korra's bicep, and again, breaks the almighty Avatar and all of her higher brain functions. "I've always wondered—what's the most you've ever been able to carry?"

She's probably blushing down to her toes, but Korra manages an answer. "Well, without bending… maybe a couple hundred pounds? I could pick you up no problem, if that's what you're asking."

For a moment, Korra doesn't really register what she's just said, or what she's implying, but the thoughtful look that graces Asami's features certainly makes her start thinking about the implications. Real fast. Also, there's still a really nice, really warm hand on her arm and it's _really_ not helping.

There's an uncomfortable silence, and Korra thinks she might not be able to airbend in the compartment, because there doesn't seem to _be_ any air. She tries to avoid Asami's eyes, but whatever had been shut behind metaphorical closed doors is now sitting right out in front of them, right on top of the crushed bean puffs and seaweed crackers, ready for… well, whatever happens next. 

_This is Asami,_ Korra thinks. _We talk about everything. How is this any different?_

"Um…" Korra begins and also has no further thoughts.

Asami seems to snap out of her reverie. "What was that?"

"Well... I should just ask you," Korra says, heart beating a mile a minute, palms sweaty. "What's all this mean?"

"I couldn't say." Asami begins cautiously. "…whatever you want it to mean, I guess."

Korra thinks this over. She doesn't really think her next words though, but that's not an uncommon occurrence. "So, if I wanted to… I don't know, lean over and kiss you? Could it mean that?"

Asami is obviously picking up on just how eager Korra's gotten in the past thirty seconds, because she just smiles, and if Korra squints hard enough, she can see a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it." she says, the hand that had been squeezing Korra's bicep now slowly trailing up towards her shoulder. "If that's what you'd like this to mean."

Korra has never been one to overthink things, but she's definitely thinking _way_ too much as she leans in close enough to smell the faint scent of motor oil that always seems to linger on the engineer.

What if she's a bad kisser? How long has it been? Oh, spirits, she'll screw everything up, they might not even be _friends_ after this, but there's really nothing she wants to do more than just kiss her—

The door to the compartment slides violently open, and Korra thinks she has a stroke.

" _Fuck!_ "

The events go like this:

Bolin stands in the narrow doorway with Opal. 

_"We just heard you guys were on this train, what a coincidence!"_

(Why, Ravaa. _Why._ )

Bolin talks for about an eternity too long. 

Asami actually engages in conversation with the couple. 

Korra curls herself into the back corner of the compartment, curses every single one of the spirits out to ruin her life, tries to calm down her breathing.

It doesn't work.

Opal asks Korra what's wrong.

Korra is unresponsive.

Korra doesn't want to be responsive.

Korra wants Opal and Bolin to leave forever.

Or at least for the next ten and a half hours

(She doesn't say that. Doesn't say anything.)

Asami is perfect. Asami politely tells them to leave.

Bolin looks confused. Opal does not.

Asami turns to Korra, humor evident in her eyes. "You okay over there?"

"No." Korra grumbles. "Why do the spirits hate me?"

Ever caring and perceptive, Asami scoots over to Korra, rests a hand on one of her bunched-up knees. "I don't think they hate you." Her hand isn't doing anything, but Korra feels like her knee is on fire. "I know I certainly don't."

Korra finds herself smiling. "I'd rather be in your good graces than theirs, to be honest." she says, and slides her feet off of the bench. 

She pushes herself into much the same position she'd been in before certain air- and lava- benders had rudely stomped into the compartment. Asami's hand ends up on her thigh, her other one threading through the hair at the back of Korra's neck and they almost distract her enough to forget about her previous quest.

_Almost._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Check me out on tumblr (although there's not much on there): [bazaarwords](http://bazaarwords.tumblr.com)


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